(a) Significance of minerals as environmental resources include:
(i) It provides fuel, e.g petroleum, coal and natural gas
(ii) It provides foreign exchange
(iii) Provision of employment, i.e mining
(iv) Provision of basic amenities where mining is carried out
(v) Provision of raw materials for industries, e.g limestone for cement industries
(vi) Some are valuable minerals used in making necklace, wrist watches e.g gold.
(b) Three major problems resulting from the exploitation of mineral resources include:
(i) Environmental pollutions
(ii) Depletion off natural vegetation
(iii) Mining activities do lead to soil erosion